PTO pushes for parental input on school budget

News-Times, The (Danbury, CT), Nanci G. Hutson THE NEWS-TIMES

Published 12:00 am, Friday, March 24, 2006

NEW MILFORD - Town Parent-Teacher Organization leaders want a full house on Tuesday night.

They want every seat in the high school cafeteria filled with parents eager to learn more about the proposed school budget.
The public hearing, hosted by the
Board of Finance
, is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.
"We're putting out a plea for parents to come and get better informed, and share their concerns about the education budget," townwide PTO president
Denise Smith
said.
Smith and other PTO leaders fear parents are unaware what the schools stand to lose. The
Town Council
trimmed $1.7 million from the
Board of Education
's initial request of $53.9 million.
After years of education cuts,
Lisa Terlizzi
, another PTO officer, said class sizes are larger, test scores are lower and there are too few science labs and teachers.
Superintendent

JeanAnn Paddyfote
's initial budget proposal allocated money to reinstate summer school over the next three years and reduce the cost of pay-to-play high school sports over the same span. But those initiatives might not be possible because it appears the district will need money to put in a new elementary math curriculum.
This week, Paddyfote launched her own effort to inform voters about the school budget. She said she's willing to brief residents in her office, over coffee in someone's living room, or at a civic club meeting.
In the weeks before the May budget referendum, her goal is to teach voters where the dollars are going in the school spending plan and why. She sent a letter to district employees last week encouraging them to think of ways the district can get the "real message of education out to this community."
"I will free up my schedule and make every effort to meet with as many groups, small or large, to promote the positive message and needs of this school district," Paddyfote stated.
Not everyone agrees the schools are in financial peril. Republican Mayor

Patricia Murphy
and all six Republicans on the nine-member Town Council voted for the budget that had been trimmed by $1.7 million.
Opponents have cited the need to keep tax rates under control. They say they are also upset that school administrators are resistant to change and are unwilling to economize. They also cite the lower test scores and shrinking enrollment as a reason to limit spending increases.
Terlizzi said administrators and teaching staff have been doing the best they can with the money they get, but that the dollars can only be stretched so far.
She hopes if there is a big enough outcry, the Board of Finance might consider restoring some money.
"The only thing we can hope for is that parents will come and educate themselves," Terlizzi said. "That is the best way they can make a solid decision when it comes voting time. We need to get parents out to vote."
Terlizzi, for one, said she intends to be in the front row Tuesday night. "I've got kids in the school system," said Terlizzi, the mother of two children. "If I don't fight for them, nobody will."